


The New Apartment

by Talking_Bird



Category: Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Canon Continuation, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, First Time, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 19:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5176946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talking_Bird/pseuds/Talking_Bird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyo and Tohru have moved away from their loved ones in order to begin their new life together in a far away land. Two-bedroom apartments are expensive and the pair find themselves renting a one-bedroom. How will they handle being so alone and so close?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kyo - Practical

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this baby on fanfiction.net for a while and I thought I would share it with all of the lovely people here at ao3! Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Kyo – Practical**

Kyo entered the small, inviting apartment and sighed as he put down a box of clothes. He examined the clean white walls and inhaled the smell of new carpet. It was a nice place, but it made him nervous. It seemed so _adult_ , in so many different ways. The responsibility of rent and utilities loomed over him, but those weren't making him too anxious. His biggest worry was that the apartment was a one-bedroom. Initially they were going to get a two-bedroom, but Kyo and Tohru mutually decided a smaller place would be more practical.

* * *

 

_"It's-it's so expensive!" Tohru said, financial woes already pressing on her._

_"I know, but everything in our price range is in the bad part of town. I won't always be able to pick you up from work and it worries me that you'll be walking home alone at night" Kyo said as he lightly placed his knuckles on his temple and leaned on the table with his elbow. He looked over and over at the newspaper in front of him. Every single listing for two-bedroom apartments were inadequate. All of them were either in bad areas, complete dumps, or, most commonly, too damn expensive. It felt as if they'd never find a place._

_It wasn't as if they were poor (yet), but a lot had changed since the curse was broken and Kyo's seemingly never-ending bank account now had a decided number. He wasn't too worried about deposits, but getting by month-to-month was another story. Kyo thought he'd been through it all, but this adult stuff sure was proving him wrong._

_"I didn't expect this to be so hard" he said and laughed. He looked at Tohru who was examining the paper with a pensieve look on her face. Kyo saw a blush bloom on her face._

_"Huh? Tohru, what's wrong?" he asked. Tohru's blush deepened_

_"I-I just wonder if this one wouldn't be b-best?" she asked as her face turned scarlet. Kyo looked at the listing she was pointing at. Right price, right area, some amenities included, one bed/one bath…_

_One bed/one bath?! Kyo felt his cheeks get hot. Was she really suggesting this? In truth, he had thought of it himself, it was cost efficient and they certainly would have higher quality apartments to choose from. Maybe it was a good idea and plus, wasn't this only natural? Surely, a young couple in love buying an apartment together would sleep in the same room. He looked at Tohru again. She was looking away from him and still flushed red. He thought about her flushing red for other reasons._

_"Aaaaaaah!" Kyo yelled, both hands on is head as he tried to shake out the image that entered his mind for the briefest of moments._

_Of course, this made Tohru panic._

_"F-forgive me! I was being far too forward, please excuse me!" she said, her blush now encompassing her entire torso. Kyo laughed nervously._

_"It's not like it's a crazy idea…" Kyo said, "It would save us a lot of money and I guess we don't need all that space." Kyo found himself making a case for it. He felt criminal. Sure, they'd been dating for eight months and never gotten past passionate kissing, but even that made Tohru so bashful he doubted she was ready for anything else. He wondered if he was._

_Then again, maybe it was time. It's not like he hadn't thought about it, but he never felt safe inside his mind. The last thing he wanted was for Hanajima and Uotani to come crashing into his bedroom and daring to kill him if he ever had such thoughts again. Whenever "such thoughts" graced his conscious, he'd do his best to think of anything else immediately. Alas, Kyo was (now) only human and there was no doubt he had certain "wants" he sometimes wish he didn't_

_His mind reeled, going back and forth on the subject. He worried that his argument for "practicality" was just a cover-up for the inevitable intimacy that would come from sharing a room. He inhaled and came to a decision._

_"Tohru…a one bedroom, is it fine like this?" he asked her, determined for this decision to be completely mutual. It was a big step for their relationship. Tohru's face grew serious._

_"Yes! I think this will be the best way for us to make our own way" she said. Kyo sighed. He worried she didn't completely understand the implications of sharing a room and tried to be more direct._

_"It's more responsible, yes, but Tohru, we'd be sleeping in the same room together…is that really okay with you?" Kyo asked, his fingers resting on the back of his neck, his face getting red. Tohru's expression changed. Her eyes widened and red found her cheeks again. She was frightened. A gear shifted in Kyo's head._

_"Oh! I can just sleep in the living room. I'm not a little kid, this doesn't need to be a big deal" Kyo said, doing his best to sound enthusiastic._

_"Oh, no! I don't want you to have to be in the living room. Please, let me sleep there."_

_"No way! You're a girl! What kind of man would I be if I took the room, while you were in the living room?"_

_Tohru looked back at the newspaper. Kyo didn't understand why, but she looked disappointed for a brief second. Her expression quickly changed to a kind smile._

_"Yes, thank you very much" she said. Kyo put his hand on her cheek._

_"It's gonna be…" he looked for the right word._

_"Fun?"_

_"Yeah"_

_Kyo moved closer to her and kissed her gently. He pulled away and looked into her eyes as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear._

_"Tohru?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Don't tell anyone we're moving into a one-bedroom, okay?"_

_"Huh?"_

* * *

 

Even though they had decided Kyo would sleep in the living room, he was still a man living with a beautiful woman who, mercifully, loved him back. What if, in a moment of passion, he suggested _something_? What if Tohru consented just to please him and not because she really wanted to? He gasped.

" _She would do something like that, wouldn't she? She's never doing things for herself, it's always for other people, but this kinda thing…she has to want to too! But we have to do it eventually, right? Right?!"_ Kyo thought. He continued to panic while he thought of _this_ and _that_ , when Tohru entered the apartment carrying a small box.

"Oh! Kyo-kun it's so cute!" Tohru said, enamored with their new apartment. Kyo, who had not noticed Tohru entering, was standing in the corner, forlorn and defeated.

" _Maybe I should just accept being celibate for the rest of my life. It's fine as long as Tohru's by my side…"_ Kyo thought.

"Kyo-kun?"

"Huh?"

"Kyo-kun are you alright?" Tohru asked. He chuckled to himself to relieve some of his anxiety.

"Yeah, thanks. Let's grab the other stuff" Kyo said, doing his best to stay focused on moving. They walked down the stairs to the street where a taxi cab held the rest of their possessions. They had both brought very little since they had travelled such a long distance and decided they would buy furniture at their new home.

They brought up all their boxes, Kyo taking the heavy ones, and thanked the taxi driver once they were done. They admired their new apartment and set to work unpacking. Kyo began opening boxes in the living room to check if anything had been damaged during the trip. He came across the small box Tohru first brought up and opened it. It was the box that contained some of Tohru's most prized possessions: her zodiac set (papier-mâché cat included), Kyo's old hat, a paper flower Kyo gave her, and his beads. He looked at them and felt a phantom bracelet on his left wrist, which always felt strangely bare after he tore his beads off. Sometimes he would realize he wasn't wearing his bracelet and panic briefly before remembering he no longer needed it. He no longer needed reminding he was a disgusting monster, because he wasn't anymore. Kyo would have been glad to have never seen them again, and yet she kept them. Of course she did. He remembered thinking that maybe he _should_ have picked them up, after all, they were always with him, a part of him, but at the time he just wanted the damn things off. Then there was sweet, thoughtful Tohru, picking up every single bead. She picked them up and now, she cherishes them. Why?

Kyo stood up and looked at Tohru. She was in the kitchen, happily humming to herself as she cleaned and put away dishes into cabinets. He thought about her and the miracle that was her existence. He thought about the time in the rain, right before Tohru got hurt. She said she loved him and he called her delusional, because no one could love him after what he had done. And yet, here she was, cherishing the ugliest part of him. Keeping mementos of his insecurities because they were happy memories, because the beads were proof he was no longer in the confines of a curse. They were also the proof he once was. She kept them. She kept them and Kyo had a thought.

" _She does feel_ that _way about me_ " he reminded himself. How in the world was he ever deserving of that? How can she save him, over and over again, from the darkest pits of hell, and still be able to be in love with him? It would have been enough if she just stayed by his side until he was locked away. That would have been more than enough, and yet she loved him.

He had moved to her side before he knew what he was doing. She looked up at him and smiled and he quickly kissed that smile. He felt her surprise, but she quickly put it to the side and put her hands on his chest, giving in to the kiss. Kyo held her close to him and kissed her with increasing immediacy, every kiss a desperate cry to communicate "I love you, thank you". Tohru moved her arms up in one jerky, hesitant motion. Kyo, believing that this was her way of telling him to slow down, decreased the fierceness to which he kissed her and then stopped. He kissed her forehead and smiled, pretending he didn't notice how red both of them were.

"Let me help you clean the dishes"


	2. Tohru - Something More

**Chapter 2: Tohru – Something More**

Tohru was beet red like she always was after Kyo-kun kissed her. He was so handsome and her heart felt full to the brim just being with him, so of course she'd be flustered after he kissed her. Though his kisses could be overwhelming, Tohru loved Kyo-kun's kisses. They were always kind, gentle, and filled with love. This kiss was a little different however. Though still kind, gentle, and filled with love, this kiss was…urgent. It was as if rather than _wanting_ to kiss her, he needed to. She had tried to match his gusto by bringing her arms up around his neck to bring him closer to her, but her nerves had resulted in them jerking upward hesitantly and failing their intended task. It was after her attempt at romance that Kyo-kun politely stopped and helped her clean the box of dishes in the kitchen.

It was fine. She wasn't mad or embarrassed (well, she was a little embarrassed, she was _kissing_ after all), but it left her feeling somewhat childish, somehow unprepared for being an adult. She wanted to be closer to Kyo-kun, but she didn't know how. She couldn't just talk about it and she didn't want to worry him. Normally, Tohru was able to bat off these thoughts by telling herself that it will come naturally and there's no need to worry now, but a kiss like that made it hard to ignore those feelings.

She wondered why he seemed so opposed to sleeping in the same room as her. After speaking with Isuzu-san, she didn't think he'd volunteer to sleep in the living room.

* * *

 

_You're looking for two-bedroom apartments? Why?" Isuzu-san asked as she peeled an orange at Shishou's table. Tohru had come to visit her friend and found Isuzu-san by herself inside the house. They had started talking about Tohru's future arrangements, but this question just terribly confused her._

_"Because Kyo-kun and I are moving in together"_

_"Yeah, but why should you have separate rooms? You're a couple aren't you?" Isuzu-san asked. Tohru flushed._

_"Well that…Kyo-kun and I-"_

_"Forget about it, it's none of my business" she said, hoping to not further panic her friend._

_"No-no, um Isuzu-san, I wonder if I couldn't bother you for more advice…on…the, uh, subject…at hand" Tohru's voice got softer as she spoke._

_"Well, I just mean that kind of thing is natural after moving in together, right? You're all alone and it's not like you really have to worry about people barging in you. Getting a one-bedroom will save you money too" Tohru listened, but grew more panicked by the second. Did moving in together normally mean_ that _? She suddenly felt completely unprepared._

_"Hey look, I'm not saying you_ have _to do anything. I'm just saying it's a subject that's going to come up sooner or later and maybe you should just know where you stand on it, that's all" Isuzu-san continued, noticing Tohru's panic._

_"Where I stand?" she asked._

_"Yeah, like do you even want to? Are you ready? What are you going to do about birth control? Things like that"_

_Tohru's head was spinning, She hadn't thought about this at all. It was scary._

_"_ Such a thing might be impossible for me _" Tohru thought, "_ I'm sure even I could… _" her thoughts wandered to Kyo-kun's fingers brushing her lips and his other hand unbuttoning her blouse._

_"AAAAAAH!" '_

_"WHAT?! Why are you yelling?!" Isuzu-san yelled as Tohru tried to calm herself, the vision still gnawing at her despite her best efforts to rid it from her mind. She wondered if it was something Kyo-kun expected from her. This was what men and women did after all._

_"Hey! Don't over think it too much! It'll happen naturally. Kyo's probably too much of a coward to do anything anyway" Isuzu-san said._

* * *

 

After talking with Isuzu-san, Tohru felt like it was inevitable and that Kyo-kun had probably already thought about it. Did he even _want that?_ Maybe he didn't think of her like that…but didn't Isuzu-san say it was only "natural"? It was all very confusing.

Tohru looked at Kyo-kun's back. He was emptying a box that Tohru recognized as her treasure box. She looked at his athletic frame, his broad shoulders, and the nape of his neck. A small part of her felt a pang of disappointment.

" _If I wasn't such a coward, I could have touched his neck_ " she thought, her cheeks getting rosy again. She had never had a thought like that before. She never felt her fingers pulse with…what? Tohru didn't understand the feeling, but she wanted to.

It was so strange, to be so close to him, so alone with him, yet she felt so distant from him. It was like Kyo-kun put up a barrier in the moment he moved away from her. Fear took hold of her. Relationships, she heard, were hard work. Sure, they had confessed their feelings and decided to move far way together because the pain of being apart would be too much, but now what? Would Kyo-kun always feel the need for such barriers? These things take time, but Tohru couldn't help but feel as if she had done something wrong. It was all much harder than she thought.


	3. Kyo - Selfish

**Chapter 3: Kyo – Selfish**

"Hey Tohru, where's the second futon?" Kyo asked, opening a large box with a single futon and futon covers.

"Oh, Kyo-kun, I don't have a futon. We were going to buy one here" Tohru said. Kyo's face turned pale. He completely forgot and it was too late in the evening to get one now. What a situation: alone in a one-bedroom apartment with one futon and the girl of his dreams. He shook his head and swallowed back the part of him that liked this turn of events.

"Well, it can't be helped. You take the room and the futon. I'll stay in the living room tonight" Kyo said, proud of how responsible he was being.

"Oh, no! I could never take your futon Kyo-kun! Please, you take it!"

"No way, what kind of man would I be if I did that?" Kyo asked. Tohru looked at the ground.

"I don't want Kyo-kun to sleep on the floor" Tohru said as Kyo blushed scarlet. He might have just dreamed it, but it almost sounded as if she wanted to share the futon with him. No, no she probably was just being polite, like normal, but why was his heart skipping beats?

"I'll be fine. It's just for a night" he said, strengthening his resolve. He didn't want to take advantage of the situation. He promised he would be a better man. Kyo started making the futon in the bedroom as Tohru watched him. He could tell something was on her mind, but what she might say if he asked her made him nervous. Kyo ruffled the hair on the back of his neck with his hand. Was he always going to feel like this? As if Tohru was a pearl statue of purity he would break if he touched? It always just seemed so impossible. He wanted to treasure her. He promised he would treasure her.

"Alright, that should get you through the night. We'll go get a futon first thing in the morning"

"Yes!" Tohru said. Kyo smiled and moved towards her. He pushed her bangs to the side and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight"

"Goodnight"

Kyo walked back to the living room and tossed a pillow on the floor. He grabbed a blanket from an open box and quickly made a sure-to-be uncomfortable bed for the night. Kyo got under the blanket and stared at the ceiling of his new living room. He would have to get used to this view. A terrifying, confusing feeling formed a ball of tension in his chest. Kyo tried to remind himself how lucky he was now. He was free of the curse that caused him, and too many others, suffering for so many years. He was loved by the woman he loved. They were together. He was studying martial arts with the love of his life by his side. What more could he ask for? Nothing. It was too selfish to ask for anything else. Kyo fell asleep with a small smile gracing the corner of his lips, thinking of the first time he embraced Tohru and his body got to stick around to enjoy it.

* * *

 

"NO!" a terrified voice called out in the night. Kyo's eyes snapped open, his only thought being " _Tohru!_ "

He ran into the bedroom, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Tohru?! What's wrong?!" he yelled when he found her sitting on the futon, sweaty and panic-stricken. Tohru smiled through her panic.

"Oh, Kyo-kun I-I'm sorry. It seems I had a dream that was quite frightening" Tohru laughed, still visibly shaken. Kyo sat down next to her and wiped her sweaty forehead with his sleeve.

"Someone once told me that talking about a scary dream can make you feel better" Kyo said. Tohru looked at him, an un-easiness washing over her.

"I dreamt that Kyo-kun's curse was never broken and you were…locked away until…" she trailed off.

" _Locked up? Did she know about that?_ " Kyo thought.

"Tohru, did you know…" Kyo started, but stopped when he saw the tears form in her eyes. He held her.

"It was a dream. That's not happening. I'm right here" he said as Tohru buried her face in his chest and continued to cry. Kyo put his chin on the top of her head and pulled her close. They stayed like that in the silence for a long time, until Tohru pulled back and looked at Kyo with a softness in her eyes he had never seen before. Her eyes made him feel safe and yet, he found himself worried his stomach would explode from the sheer number of butterflies she was giving him.

"Kyo-kun will you stay here?" she asked, looking as if the answer might break her.

"Yeah, I will" Kyo said.

"Tonight?" she asked. Kyo was stunned. What was she saying? What was she doing to him?

"You want me to sleep here?" Tohru nodded. Kyo felt every siren and alarm go off in his brain and every butterfly in his stomach go flying. He thought it was time for a plain conversation about this.

"Tohru, look, I think we should talk about this. Tohru-I…I don't know if I can do that. It might be hard to understand, but Tohru you're really, uh, cute and I-I'm only human and I want to treasure you. It might be, uh, difficult for me to do that if I sleep here" Kyo said, his blush reaching a new level of red, which could only be matched by the stunning shade Tohru was sporting. She looked at the futon beneath her, eyes still read from crying.

"I'm no good Kyo-kun. When it comes to Kyo-kun all I know how to be is selfish. I know I told you that I wanted this apartment because it's less expensive, but that was a lie. I wanted this apartment so I can be even closer to Kyo-kun. I want to be closer Kyo-kun" she said, each word getting more and more desperate for Kyo to understand. She brought her hand to Kyo's cheek, trying to close the gap between them. Kyo put his hand over hers.

"Tohru…" Kyo said, his voice a husky whisper, "Do you mean you want to..?" he asked, still not believing what was happening, his heart beating harder than it ever had in his life and his entire body pulsed with…hunger? It scared him.

Tohru studied his eyes with the same determined softness he saw before that made his knees weak.

"Kyo…" she said with no honorific attached to his name. Her eyes flashed to his lips and the distance between them got smaller. Hearing his name without the usual "kun" present caused the dam to break and the barrier Kyo put up to crumble. Kyo closed the distance between them, desperately kissing her as if it would be the last time. Tohru responded back eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Kyo broke away from her lips and kissed her jaw, then moved to her neck, his hands wrapping around her.

"Kyo…" Tohru said in a small, passionate voice. Hearing his name set Kyo aflame once more and he pinned Tohru to the futon. He paused, his heart beating and his breath shallow. He looked Tohru in her eyes, his own image reflecting in them. She looked back at him, flushed and shaking, but the look in her eyes told him she was ready. Kyo stroked her pink cheek.

"You're so beautiful" he said, realizing he was ready as well.

"Kyo…" and that was all that needed to be said. Kyo lifted his shirt over his head and threw it to one corner as Tohru began on the buttons of her pajamas. Kyo helped her with her bottoms, which made her shiver, leaving her in just an opened shirt and her underwear. He trailed her stomach with the tips of his fingers, his hand getting close to the elastic of her pink-striped underwear. Tohru took a sharp inhale of breath, feeling sensations she didn't know existed.


	4. Tohru - Closer

**Chapter 4: Tohru – Closer**

Kyo-kun was sleeping. Tohru watched him breathe in and out, his bare chest moving to the rhythm of his breath. Tohru examined the eyelashes that gently rested on his skin and the lips that kissed her so gently not too long ago. Tohru, realizing she had been holding her breath. She inhaled, deep and full, and exhaled. Kyo had his arm around her smaller frame with his other hand beneath his head. She tried to stay as still as possible so as not to wake him. He looked so peaceful, so content that it made her want to cry. She wanted to burn this image in her head forever. He was so beautiful with his messy orange hair, his strong jaw line, and the lean body that held her so close in the dark. Tohru's eyes betrayed her and started to mist. She had never been so happy.

When the idea of making love first entered her mind, she never really thought of it as something to be enjoyed. She thought it was something she had to do in order to maintain the relationship: water to make the seeds of love grow. Tohru understood now that this was only a part of it. It was like she had loved Kyo-kun with her whole heart and whole body, giving all of herself to him, and in return he gave all of himself to her. It was so beautiful, and she didn't expect it to be beautiful.

She also expected it to hurt, but Kyo-kun was slow and gentle, always thinking of Tohru first. Tohru drank up the sight of him.

" _I'm in love with him_ " she thought. She already knew this, of course, but she felt it so strongly now that it was almost unbearable. Almost.

Tohru's train of thought was interrupted as Kyo began to stir, his eyelashes fluttering and the arm that had been resting on her bare skin moved to wipe the sleep from his eyes. He let out a soft waking moan. The sound made Tohru's heart ache.

When he finally opened his eyes, they scanned the room until landing on Tohru. As soon as he saw her, Tohru saw him remember where he was and what had happened. The memory had made he face glow so brightly with joy and love that the tears Tohru had fought so hard to keep in her eyes fell immediately and without restraint. That look…it had made her already full heart overflow. There was just nothing she could do to stop the stream of tears that cascaded down the side of her face and onto the pillow she laid her head on.

This made Kyo-kun sit-up immediately, his left arm propping him up, while his other cupped her cheek, his fingers entangled in her hair.

"Tohru? Tohru, what's wrong?" his voice was so soft and so concerned. It only made her cry more that her tears changed his face from that shining happiness to a countenance full of worry. She sat up as well.

"I'm sorry Kyo-kun. I'm fine, I'm just so happy I can't contain it. Kyo-kun, Kyo-kun I love you. I love you very, very much" she said, her voice shaking as the tears continued to fall and fall. Kyo-kun sat up straight and put a hand lightly on her thigh. He smiled at her with a tenderness she never would have been able to imagine.

"Hey, I thought you were dropping the 'kun' already" he said, kissing a tear track on her cheek. This made her smile and the tears slowed. She sniffed.

"You're right. Kyo?" she asked. He inhaled and Tohru could almost hear his heart beating faster.

"Yes?"

"Kyo, I love you" she said, the words thick and sweet in her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that"

"I love you, Kyo"

"I love you too" Kyo said as he kissed her, tears now forming in his eyes. When they separated Kyo wiped the tears from his eyes and laughed lightly.

"You know, how about we skip buying a futon tomorrow? We really shouldn't be wasting our money on something so trivial" he said, his voice playful. Tohru laughed.

"Yes! I think that'll be much more practical"

"Yes, very practical" Kyo said as he lifted her chin and beckoned her lips to his, no longer feeling the need to apologize or hold back.

—THE END—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts so please leave me a comment! Hope you liked it :)


End file.
